Wilbrink, R. (Rick) (2018) CD21-/low B-cells are increased in the auto-inflammatory disease Ankylosing Spondylitis. thesis, Medicine.
Full text available on request.Abstract
Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease mainly affecting the sacroiliac joints and the spine. A well-supported hypothesis suggests that the pathogenesis of AS is driven by cells of the innate immune system. Moreover, the most noticeable mediators are the IL-23/IL-17 axis and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. Current treatment of AS is primarily based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), such as TNF-α inhibitors. B-cells have received little attention regarding their potential role in AS due to the absence of auto-antibodies. In recent years a newly identified B-cell subset, which has a low expression of the molecule cluster of differentiation (CD) 21 expression, has been found to be increased in auto-immune and auto-inflammatory diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and primary Sjogren’s syndrome (pSS), According to previous literature, this particular CD21-/low B-cell subset is thought to be in a state of anergy. This study describes an increased proportion CD21-/low B-cells that express a unique set of immune markers in the blood of AS patients, similar to findings in systemic auto-immune/auto-inflammatory diseases. The similarity in phenotype and increased proportion of CD21-/low B-cells is indicative for B-cell involvement in AS. However, whether CD21-/low B-cells are refractory to B-cell receptor (BCR) stimulation in AS, remains to be solved. Our data analysis does not allow us to draw a firm conclusion on the anergic state of these CD21-/low B-cells in AS.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Thesis) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Faculty supervisor: and Kroese, Prof. dr. F.G.M. |
| Supervisor name: | Second supervisor: and Verstappen, dr. G.M.P.J. and Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology and University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Jun 2020 11:01 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2020 11:01 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2138 |
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